Letter: Jesus may have been a revolutionary but never a philosopher
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.MICHAEL ROLL (Letters, 10 July) informs us that the Catholic Christian doctrines and dogmas date from the 4th century, were defined at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, and that they have nothing to do with a philosopher called Jesus.
To describe Jesus as a 'philosopher' is a gross anachronism. Jesus was a 1st century Jew, steeped in the religion and culture of his time, concerned to point his disciples towards God. Neither, to borrow Michael Roll's loaded phrase, was Jesus 'made into God' at the Council of Nicaea.
The doctrine of Christ's divinity is either true or it is false, and the Council determined that the Church would accept it as true - no more; it certainly did not 'make' it true. Further, it is not even true that all of the Catholic dogmas were defined at Nicaea, even if 'catholic' is spelt with a small 'c'.
Has not Michael Roll heard of the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451 - six centuries before the schism between the Eastern and Western halves of Christianity? For that matter, hasn't he read the New Testament, in which case it should be obvious that the early Church was trying to thrash out its beliefs long before the Council of Nicaea convened?
Leslie Dellow
Minsterley, Shrewsbury
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments